Circulating pump



United States Patent CIRCULATING PUMP Nikolaus Laing, Stuttgart, Germany, assignor to Vortex A.G., Zug, Switzerland Filed June 17, 1968, Ser. No. 737,548 Claims priority, applicat6ion 6(egrmany, June 22, 1967,

1 53, rm. c1. F04d13/02; F16k 31/44 U.S. Cl. 10387 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE My present invention relates to a pump installed in a conduit for the circulation of a fluid, e.g., water used for utility purposes.

The removal of the impeller assembly of such a pump, for,inspection or repair, necessitates the closure of valves upstream and downstream of the pump housing to prevent the loss of fluid and the intrusion of air or contaminants into the circulation system. The separate opening and closure of these valves is time-consuming; also, their presence outside the pump housing may be inconvem'ent where space is limited.

It is, therefore, the general object of my present invention to provide means in a fluid pump for facilitating the demounting of the impeller and its drive motor without requiring the presence of such external valves.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide means for enabling the simultaneous opening and closure of the inlet and outlet ports of a pump housing with detachable impeller assembly.

The foregoing objects are realized, pursuant to my present invention, by the provision of an extension detachably mounted on the pump housing to accommodate the impeller assembly, this extension having a passage communicating with an inlet compartment and an outlet compartment of the pump housing separated by a fluidtight partition. Two valve seats, formed between these compartments and respective ports, are closable by normally ineffective valve members which can be moved into engagement with their seats by operating means advantageou s'ly comprising a common actuator for both valve members, specifically a rotatable worm in mesh with a worm gear on a shaft whose extremities are threaded with mutually opposite pitch and mate with complementary threads of these members. The worm gear may be flanked by a pair of closely spaced packing disks, traversed by the shaft, which form part of the aforementioned partition.

The above and other features of my invention will be described in greater detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial sectional view of a circulating pump according to my invention; and

4 FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IIII of FIG. 1.

The pump shown in the drawing comprises a housing 4 which forms a pump chamber divided into two compartments 31, 32 by a partition generally designated 30.

3,490,379 Patented Jan. 20, 1970 Compartment 31 communicates with an inlet port 5 through an annular valve seat 12, closable by a valve member 8, while compartment 32 communicates with an outlet port 6 through a similar seat 13 which is closable by a valve member 9. The two valve members, held against rotation by radial pins 17, 18 engaging in respective outer grooves 22 (as particularly illustrated for valve body 8), are movable along the common axis 7 of ports 5, 6 and seats 12, 13 under the control of an axially extending shaft 11 of polygonal cross-section; the two extremities of this shaft, threaded with mutually opposite pitch, are matingly received in threaded bores of valve members 8 and 9, respectively. Thus, rotation of shaft 11 in a predetermined direction draws the valve members 8, 9 onto their seats 12, 13 whereas rotation in the opposite sense drives these members apart and separates them from their seats to unblock the flow of fluid therethrough.

To rotate the shaft 11, a worm gear 14 mounted thereon is in mesh with a worm 15 integral with an external knob 16, the axis 25 of worm 15 being transverse to the shaft. Worm gear 14 is flanked by a pair of packing disks 19, 20 which form part of the partition 30 and insure a fluidtight seal between compartments 31 and 32. A packing ring 21 on the shaft of worm 15 affords further protection against leakage of fluid from housing 4.

The pump housing 4 is formed with two lateral apertures 23, 24 communicating with inlet compartment 31 and outlet compartment 32, respectively. An impeller rotor 2 is rotatably journaled on a pin 26 inside a cowl 27 rigid with that pin, a peripheral zone 27a of this cowl resting on an internal shoulder 28a of an annular boss 28 which surrounds the apertures 23 and 24. Aperture 23, centered within the boss 28, is overlain by a guide ring 2a spaced from the body of rotor 2 by a set of involuteshaped vanes 2b; the spaces between these vanes form passages for the discharge of water or other fluid from compartment 31 into a ring space 29 opening into the eccentric aperture 24, the fluid thus entering the comparte ment 32 as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1. The assembly is similar to that shown in my prior U.S. Patent No. 3,354,833.

Rotor 2 is provided with ferromagnetic armatures 33 entrainable by magnetic poles 34 on the shaft 35 of an electric drive motor 1; the poles 34 rotate around the cowl 27 inside an extension 36 of housing 4 which also encloses the motor 1. Extension 36 is detachably secured to housing 4 by means of a clamping nut 3 engaging the threaded outer surface of boss 28; a flange 36a projecting axially form motor housing 36 bears upon shoulder 28a through the intermediary of cowl portion 27a to clamp the cowl firmly in place, thus forming a fluidtight envelope around the fluid path from aperture 23 to aperture 24.

Before detaching the assembly 1, 2, 27, 36 from the pump housing 4, knob 16 is manually rotated to force the valve members 8 and 9 onto their seats, thus tightly sealing the pump chamber 31, 32 against the outside; clamping nut 3 may now be unscrewed to permit removal of housing extension 36 and cowl 27 so as to give access to motor 1 as well as rotor 2; packing disks 19, 20 are then also accessible through ports 24 and 23, respectively. The self-locking action of worm drive 14, 15 prevents accidental dislodgement of the valve members 8, 9 from their seats in the disassembled state of the unit.

The arrangement shown and described is, of course, capable of various structural modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A fluid pump comprising a housing with an inlet port and an outlet port at opposite ends of a pump chamber; partition means dividing said chamber into an inlet compartment and an outlet compartment; a first valve seat between said inlet port and said inlet compartment; a second valve seat between said outlet compartment and said outlet port; an extension detachably mounted on said housing and provided with a passage communicating with said compartments; impeller means in said passage for displacing a fluid from said inlet port to said outlet port; first and second valve means normally spaced from said first and second valve seats for letting said fluid pass therethrough; and operating means for moving said first and second valve means into fiowblocking engagement with said first and second valve seats, respectively,

2. A pump as defined in claim 1 wherein said operating means comprises a common actuator for both said valve means.

3. A pump as defined in claim 2 wherein said seats are a pair of aligned shoulders, said first and second valve means comprising a pair of valve bodies nonrotatably disposed beyond said shoulders and provided with coaxial threads of mutually opposite pitch, said operating means including a link rotatably journaled in said partition means and provided with threaded extremities in mating engagement with said coaxial threads, said actuator being operatively coupled with said link for rotating same.

4. A pump as defined in claim 3 wherein said actuator comprises a worm rotatable about an axis transverse to said link, the latter being a shaft provided with a worm gear in mesh with said worm.

5. A pump as defined in claim 4 wherein said partition means comprises a pair of closely packing disks flanking said worm gear.

6. A pump as defined in claim 1 wherein said impeller means comprises a rotor, a motor for driving said rotor, magnetic coupling means between said motor and said rotor, and a cowl between said motor and said rotor forming a fiuidtight enclosure for the latter.

7. A pump as defined in claim 6 wherein said housing is provided with lateral apertures communicating with said compartments and with an annular boss surrounding said apertures, said extension being secured to said boss.

8. A pump as defined in claim 7 wherein said boss is formed with an internal shoulder, said extension having a flange bearing upon said shoulder with interposition of a peripheral zone of said cowl.

9. A pump as defined in claim 8 wherein said boss is externally threaded, further comprising a clamping nut screwed onto said boss for holding said extension in position.

10. A pump as defined in claim 6 wherein said cowl is provided withan internal pin, said rotor being journaled on said pin for removal from said housing together with said cowl.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,978,150 4/ 1961 Doelcher.

3,306,222 2/ 1967 Sirncox.

3,000,543 9/1961 Paul.

3,252,422 5/1966 Stulens lO397 3,411,450 11/ 1968 Clifton.

LEONARD H. GERIN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R- 251-249.5, 264 

